


Maybe I'll be just a Little Happy

by randomassuser



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, David Acting as Max's Parental Figure | Dadvid (Camp Camp), David Adopts Max (Camp Camp), End of Summer at Camp Campbell (Camp Camp), Happy Ending, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21881938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomassuser/pseuds/randomassuser
Summary: A one off for some Dadvid that I made a while ago, and went back to edit and post. I hope y'all like it, and let me know if you guys want more posts like this! Also, very angsty. Also not sure if I'm any good at writing angst.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 111





	Maybe I'll be just a Little Happy

The sun rose with a softness to it, greeting a new day with the ghost of a smile on it. It was a beautiful day, if the raven haired boy had to really give his opinion on it. But this day didn’t really leave him in a good mood to begin with, quite the opposite, actually. That is what confused Nikki and Neil, mostly. 

Max had his morning coffee, a quiet breakfast, and even an all around nice day so far. But, his mood was soured, and the pair could not figure out the shorter boy at the moment.

“Everything fucking sucks.” Max said out of nowhere.

Gwen gave Max a look, glancing at David, who was currently occupied, then back to the boy. “What’s got your panties in a knot?” She cocked an eyebrow with her question.

“Going home.” He mutters, looking down at the discarded piece of paper he was supposed to be drawing on with a red stick of crayon. Gwen vaguely remembered the parent’s day incident, nodding a little in response. “Yeah, I get ya.”

Nikki turned to Max, smiling. “Max, if you can convince your parents to let you come here again, we can have a whole new set of adventures next year!” She turned towards a wall. “I can see it now… I’d like to get my own wolf pack! I’ll be an alpha that uses tough love to show my superiority and dominance. You and Neil can be apart of the pack too, if you’d like, I guess.” She shrugged.

Max gave a dull grunt, rolling his eyes at the green haired girl. 

“Come on Max, think of it this way; we’ll have access to wifi again when we get back to our homes. But, if we all do come back next year, we could try take two on that death ray.” Neil said, shrugging as he fiddled with a circuit he found in the trash, presumably from an old phone. He toggled with the gold used to actually make the circuit work, peeling it off and putting it in a pile. He muttered under his breath about being able to sell it if he got enough of it.

David wandered over, checking on how everyone was doing. He made note of how Max seemed more agitated than usual, and he had stopped the group activity as per usual. 

The red haired man had a feeling that it was because the day that camp ended was tomorrow. 

Everyone had to be picked up tomorrow, their parents would drive over, have a quick discussion with the Camp Counselors and then leave with their child. He knew Max didn’t exactly have the best relationship with his parents, but David would hope for the best when Max returned home.

When everyone wrapped up their drawings, they gathered outside and had a huge bonfire, accompanied by marshmallows as a going away gift. David thought of this as a camp tradition, even though it never happened when he was a camper. Then again, he did spoil his kids a lot when it came to the end of the summer. The children talked among themselves, everyone dividing into their various groups and enjoying the last night that they had here until they either came back next year, or didn’t come back at all.

Max sat quietly on a log, chucking marshmallows into the fire as he hogged the bag. He allowed himself to eat one, but wasn’t very hungry that evening.

David seated himself beside the boy, Gwen sitting beside David. Neil and Nikki sat on the other side of Max, having their own conversation which involved a flustered Neil and a teasing Nikki. Max simply rolled his eyes, glancing over to his other side where Gwen was dozing off on David’s shoulder, with David giving a small smile while watching the rest of the campers keeping themselves occupied.

Max stared into the fire, his vivid green eyes calming as he let himself relax and try to push away the thoughts of home that wanted to invade his mind. 

He gave a half smile.

“Gotta admit, this summer was probably the most fun I’ve ever had.” He said, looking over at Neil and Nikki. They both stared for a moment, before smiling back. Neil nodded. “Yeah, it beat sitting inside with my dad all day listening to him talk about philosophy.” He shuddered at the memory that ghosted his mind before looking at Nikki. “Are you gonna be coming back to camp next year?”

“Heck yeah!” Nikki jumped up and down on the log. “I can’t wait to have more adventures with you guys next year!” 

Max nodded, looking over at David to see him check the time. It was about eleven, and everyone should be getting to bed due to the fact that pick up times started bright and early tomorrow. David shook Gwen awake, which she slightly protested to, and stood up. “Alright kids, unfortunately, we have to end the party and go to bed.” A crowd of groans could be heard from the campers, but they cooperated nonetheless, as quite a few were worn out from being up and out so late.

Everyone retreated to their tents, making sure to change into their pajamas and get into bed. Max didn’t have pajamas, he had two or three sets of jeans and his yellow camp shirt, but a couple copies of his hoodie. He personally preferred the one he always wore, but was sometimes forced to wear a backup due to getting his original stained, or ripped (which David was always glad to sew up).

Neil had already settled into his cot, falling asleep quickly. He may not look it, but Neil was a heavy sleeper, while Max was a very light sleeper. It always took Max forever to wake Neil up in the mornings.

Max wandered into his tent, but discarded the idea of going to sleep and instead waited for David and Gwen to retreat to their cabin, and then snuck out and into the woods that surrounded the circle of tents. Max would occasionally do this when he was feeling especially tired and troubled, he enjoyed the woods at night. Everything was silent, all the animals went to sleep, and if he climbed high enough in a tree he was able to avoid people that wandered the woods at night.

Max climbed the nice and familiar elm tree, nestling himself against the trunk of the tree with branches on either side of him in case he fell asleep. But that didn’t tend to happen.

It was his special spot, where he would get to think, and lower his guard a bit. Most people tended to not bother anyone else in the middle of the night, so he was able to enjoy himself without worrying about other campers invading his privacy. 

He was worried about something else, though.

Tomorrow was the day that Camp ended, the day that he would have to face his parents again. That is, if they even decided to show up. His parents tended to be either perfectly on time to everything, or just not show up at all. He lived about three hours away, so even if they did think about picking him up, it would be a nuisance. Just like him.

Max shook his head, feeling his throat tighten a little at the thought. He couldn’t decide whether it would be worse going home, or staying here and facing reality.

But, that was tomorrow’s problem. For now, he would be able to watch the stars and drift off.

He pulled his hood up and over his head, snuggling into the oversized garment and letting himself get lost in the silence of the woods as he fell asleep.

Max jolted awake, his breathing quick and unsteady as he quickly observed his surroundings, almost falling out of the tree as he did so. The sun was barely visible behind the horizon, telling Max it was about five or six in the morning. He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, quickly rubbing them away when he tried to forget his nightmare.

He curled into himself, his knees hitting his chest and arms wrapping around his torso. He always hated when he slept long enough to be able to have nightmares, even if he was an insomniac at times.

The raven haired boy shook his head a few times, muttering some profanities under his breath as he uncurled and went to his tent again.

He made sure everything he had was packed, which only consisted of his clothes, toiletries, and Mr. Honeynuts. He hugged the bear tight to his chest, feeling himself wanting to cry again.

Today was not going to be a great day.

Max watched the sun emerge, rays wanting to spill into the tent through the fabric. He woke Neil up, it was about six in the morning now. Max slung his bag over his shoulder, shuffling into the mess hall for his morning coffee. Right, he should also pack his mug as well.

Quartermaster had pancakes on the skillet- something that usually wasn’t served in camp. Max just wrote it off as a special occasion type of thing, and took one pancake, putting a bit of syrup on it and getting his coffee from the machine. David always set it up after he found out that Max liked his coffee black, so it was always left it there to cool a little before Max would arrive. Max never thanked him for it.

After Max sat down, he saw Neil and Nikki shuffle in, Nikki being eager to eat breakfast and see what the day has in store for herself and her friends.

They both got their food, sitting with Max in their usual spots. They ate their food in silence. A heavy cloud hung over Max, something Nikki and Neil both noticed. They glanced at each other, Nikki giving a shrug before going back to her stack of pancakes. Max had barely touched his.

He took a sip of his coffee, not even feeling an appetite for that at the moment.

“You okay Max? You’re eating less than usual.” Neil said quietly. He wasn’t sure what to do in a situation, as Max usually was only his grumpy self in the morning. The raven haired boy looked up from his food, a giving Neil a blank stare before his eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at Nikki, then back at his plate.

“Y’know, I’m kind of… going to miss you guys.” He hesitantly said.

Nikki took a moment to register this, before smiling. “He really does care! You owe me ten bucks Neil!” She said, before settling down again, and looking at Max. Neil rolled his eyes, forking over the ten dollars before putting a hand on Max’s shoulder. “Well, we’ll see each other next year, right?” He paused as Max looked at him. “Just make sure not to land in jail before then.” Neil said with a small chuckle.

Nikki nodded. “Mhm! Then we can hang out and try to escape again!” She gave a wide smile as Max turned to her.

He nodded. “Yeah.. I guess you’re right. What am I getting bummed out about?” He gave a smile to them- a genuine smile. One that his two friends had never seen before. This almost made them cry, but they quickly recovered and nodded. 

David walked in with Gwen, calling everyone outside to gather their stuff so they could go as a group to the top of the hill where the pick up zone was. 

Max got his backpack, waiting for Neil and Nikki, then went with them to Gwen and David. Max turned to his friends. 

“I’m gonna miss you guys.” He said quietly, before they both ran up and hugged him. He felt his throat close up a little- he was almost on the verge of tears, if he had to be honest. It was for more reasons than one, but he shook it off nonetheless before hugging back. He saw everyone else coming, and quickly pulled away before anyone else could see what was going on.

“That never happened.” He said, pointing at both Nikki and Neil. “Got it?”

They nodded. Of course, any sign of affection that Max showed would never be leaked from their little circle. It was a promise between them.

Once everyone was there, they all walked up to the top of the hill, where a couple of cars were already waiting. These were Nerris’ and Ered’s parents, and they hurried off to the cars, each hugging David and Gwen before heading off. 

Next was Nurf, then Preston, a faint “DRIVE FASTER, WOMAN!” being heard as the latter left. Nikki was next, followed by Dolf, Harrison, and Space Kid. Then Neil’s mother pulled up, and Max gave a half smile, and waved before Neil got into the car and they drove away.

Max was left, standing with David and Gwen. They watched as the clock ticked past one, it had been seven hours since the pick up time began. David was starting to worry, but he kept a smile as he watched the corner for any sign of a car. Gwen looked at Max. “Geez, you’re parents like to take their time.”

Max scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Not really. They’re usually on time perfectly. That,” He looked at the ground. “Or they usually don’t come at all.” He ended with a whisper.

David’s head snapped to Max, looking at him with an intense worry now. This wasn’t right. Sure, maybe they skipped out on parent’s day, but it was optional anyways. They couldn’t possibly not care enough to not come get their son… Could they?

David watched as five in the evening came. He had ushered Gwen and Max into the mess hall, having the Quartermaster serve them some dinner. He could feel his composure threatening to slip away, but he kept it up for not only his co-counselor, but for Max. He proceeded to take out his phone, looking at Gwen and Max. “Gwen, could you call Max’s parents while I go get something from the office?” He handed Gwen his phone, before walking out of the mess hall.

Gwen dialed Max’s mother’s phone number, putting the cell up to her ear. She heard it ring until it went to voicemail. She tried again, shifting in the spot she was standing in. 

This time, there was a response. 

Gwen immediately spoke. “H-hello? Is this Max's parents?”

She heard a masculine voice- deep and cold- respond. “I’m his father, yes. May I ask who this is?”

“O-oh! This is Gwen, a counselor at Camp Campbell… I was calling to ask when you were going to pick up your son, Max?” She said, her voice a bit shaky due to being caught off guard by the harshness in the man’s voice. What he said next made her blood run cold, then start to boil up.

“Oh, that child? Bring him home if you want. He hasn't been a burden over these past few months. Although, he could just stay there if you want him to. We don't need him around the house." Gwen could feel his coldness over the phone. “Excuse me?”

“Maxwell is not needed here, so keep him if you want to. Eventually he'll come crawling back either way."

Gwen heard the phone hang up. She never knew the extent of the neglect that Max went through, until now. Sure, he looked to be alright, mostly well fed, clothed, and he had been brought to Camp Campbell safely. But she never expected this. How could these parents not want their own child?

She wanted to throw the phone as she looked at Max. He was sitting at the table, food untouched, with tears in his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed, and he sniffled a bit before rubbing his eyes and getting up. “I told you, Gwen. They don’t fucking care.” He walked out, going to God knows where, before David walked in. Gwen sat his phone on the table, glaring at the wall like it would disintegrate if she tried hard enough.

David stopped when he saw Gwen, glancing at where Max had been sitting, and put his hand on Gwen’s shoulder. “Gwen, what happened? Where’s Max? Did his parent-”

“They said they didn’t care.” She whispered. He looked at her. “What?”

“They said, they didn’t fucking care, David.” Gwen repeated, her voiced raised this time. “They don’t give a shit about their own son! They make me absolutely sick-” She cut herself off before a tear rolled down her cheek. She was crying, out of frustration. She wanted to march over to their house, and give them a piece of her mind.

David was silent momentarily, before he hugged Gwen lightly. There was a couple minutes before he pulled away, looking at his co-counselor. “Where’s Max?”

She looked at the ground, before shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

He nodded. “Can you get the car ready? We’re going home tonight. I can take Max with me.” Gwen took a moment to process the information, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess it’s about time that we get out of this stupid camp.” She gave a slight chuckle. David smiled at this, going outside to find Max.

Max was in his special place, of course, but no one knew that. 

He had ran there- despite feeling like he was going to fall over, and climbed up the tree to where he could be alone. His parents were assholes, he already knew that. So why did he feel shocked by the fact that they didn’t want him? They had cared enough to send him the same sweatshirt every year. 

Maybe it was just for show?

He didn’t put too much thought into it now. He had to figure out his next course of action, now that reality caught up to him. He felt his eyebrows furrow into their usual place, giving him a glare that even some adults were scared of. If he was able to make a deal with someone in the city, he could probably make enough money to try and find someone to stay with. He’d have to make sure they wouldn’t murder him in his sleep though. 

They should also help provide food, if they would be living together. But, he couldn’t ask for everything. He had limited access to the adult world due to not even being sixteen, so he had to take what he could get. If he really pulled all of his stunts and played his cards right, he could possibly-

“Max?” A voice called out. 

Max internally groaned, he knew that voice anywhere. David walked along the forest grounds, looking around for any sign of the boy. He glanced up, scanning the trees. He gave no reaction, which showed that David couldn’t see Max. 

“Max- I don’t know if you’re even here.. But if you are, please come out. I’m sorry that you’re having to go through this. You truly don’t deserve this, you’re a good kid, even if everyone else around you doesn’t think so.” Max looked at David, seeming to be weighing his options. 

If he went with David, there was a high chance that he would call the police. That would either lead to Max being taken back to his parents, or him being put into foster care for the rest of his childhood years.

“Please?”

Max facepalmed, sighing in content. He could run away if he landed in foster care anyways.

“If I come down, will you stop it with that dumbass speech? It's way too cheesy.” Max asked, irritation clearly present in his voice.

David looked to see Max peeking out from the tree, and he visibly relaxed. He was clearly glad to see Max, and approached him as the boy climbed down the tree. As soon as he was on the ground, David enveloped Max in a hug. He felt that Max needed one even if he said he didn’t.

The boy groaned, but pat David on the back nonetheless to show that he appreciated the act of affection. This was a personal win for David.

David let go, standing back a little to look at the child in front of him. He made a decision the moment that Gwen told him what Max’s parents said. He wanted to take Max from them, to give him a better life than he had before camp. He took a deep breath, and then exhaled. “Max, would you like to live with me?”

David didn’t know one thing about parenting. Be he would damn sure try harder than Max’s parents ever did, even if it wasn’t enough. He wanted to show Max that life could be good… Because somebody fucking has to.

Max’s eyes widened, his gaze shifting up to David’s kind expression.

“What?” He said.

He bent down to eye level. “I want you to live with me. I don’t know if I can give you everything you want… But I want what’s best for you. And if that means getting you away from your parents, then I’ll do everything in my power to do that.”

Max didn’t really understand, if he had to be honest. In this world of selfish idiots, how could someone care for such a useless child like him? He had done nothing beneficial for the world, only ever took from those around him, and Max was well aware of it. As well as the man standing in front of him, yet here he was offering a hand despite all of that.

Max blinked a few times, but looked at the ground, hoping his hair would cover his eyes. He was getting way too emotional.

"Why help someone like me?"

"Because, Max. You're such a special kid. You deserve a life where you can be happy." David smiled, and opened his arms for a hug. He wasn't expecting one, but a man could dream.

Max hesitantly hugged David, but quickly settled into the taller man's arms, hugging him tightly. He couldn't express what he was feeling right now in words. Was it happiness? Or was it the feeling of being comforted?

Whatever it was, he'd never really felt this way before. 

David picked him up, carrying a crying Max back to the Mess hall. Surprisingly, for such a loud kid, he was very silent while crying. David found that fitting.

He entered the building, giving a small wave to Gwen.

She gave a sigh of relief, her backpack and suitcase already gathered next to her. She met David halfway, approaching him to find that Max had his eyes closed, probably resting due to the fact that he was probably stressed out from today.

David took Max over to the counselor's office, deciding to pack up his stuff now instead of staying a few extra days to help Quartermaster to clean up. He would make sure to get something for him next summer to make up for it.

Max was set on the bed, and he watched David pack up his belongings. David seemed to be slowly returning to his happy-go-lucky mood, which annoyed Max slightly, but he couldn't care less. 

The counselor hummed a small tune, and finished up packing.

"Alright Max, do you have everything you need?" He zipped up his duffel bag. Max was silent for a second before responding.

"Yeah, it's all in my backpack. Back at the mess hall." David crooked an eyebrow at this. "You only have a backpack?"

Max shrugged. "Eh, I like to pack light."

David was going to question further, but decided not to as it was getting dark. He picked up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright Max, now that we're ready to leave, let's get the car ready to go to the parking garage.” Max raised an eyebrow at this, but he didn’t say anything. He followed David into the Mess hall, collecting Gwen and Max's backpack.

"All ready to go?" She asked, looking down at Max. He nodded. "Yeah, I guess." He examined her expression. She looked really tired.

David smiled. "Alright then, let's get everything into the car and get going." He turned to Gwen. "Do you want to stop for dinner?"

The brunette thought for a second, before shaking her head. "I just want to go home and sleep. It's been a long day." David nodded, seeming to understand. He turned to Max and looked at him. "We're going to order Chinese, if that's okay Max? I don't want to pick anything up tonight, and I don't have the groceries to make anything now." He said, internally groaning at the fact that they'd have to go shopping like he did every year when he got home.

Max furrowed his brows a bit, but nodded. "Sounds good. Just don't break the bank for me. I hate it when I owe people money." David smiled at this, and nodded. "Alright, I won't."

Gwen helped load the suitcases into the trunk of the car, before getting into the passenger's seat. David got in the driver's seat, crossed his fingers, and started the car. Luckily, it seemed to run fine for now. He'd have to get an inspection done on it through the winter. 

They pulled out of the camp, and Max looked out the window as they left. He could swear he saw someone walking through the woods as they left.

The ride to the city was simple enough, they exited the campgrounds, and had taken a various amount of highways before making it there. That took about twenty minutes. David pulled the car into a building, a fairly big one that seemed to be a mechanic's shop. David talked to a man momentarily before smiling and gesturing to get out of the car.

Gwen led Max to a section of the shop where a back room, and two cars were sitting. The man came in, giving a small smile. "I made sure everything is running well and good, so everything should be in order."

David walked in and nodded. "Thank you, Kerry, it's a big help for you to do this every year." 

Kerry chuckled. "It's no problem David, I'm happy to help an old friend." Max crooked an eyebrow at that, but decided not to ask. He got his backpack out from the camp car, and got into David's maroon Jeep Wrangler. Max could only wonder how the hell David of all people got one of those. 

The raven haired boy slid into the passenger's seat easily, relaxing at how comfortable it was. David said his goodbyes to both Kerry and Gwen, before getting into the Jeep and pulling out the door that opened behind them.

There was a few minutes of silence before David spoke up.

"Are you okay, Max?"

The question was a bit unexpected, but Max quickly recovered from the breach in the quiet there was before. "Eh, mostly. I've gotten used to this. My parents are just assholes, that's all. Soon enough they'll call the police saying that they've lost me to look like good people." David could hear Max mutter something along the lines of "Especially for the neighbors" after that. 

David hesitated before this next part. "Well… I'm not going to let them take you back, Max. That is, if you'll let me-" He paused. "I know you weren't happy at your home, and like I said before, I want to give you a place where you can be happy."

Max looked at David, then rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever." Deep inside though, he was just a little relieved. He figured out that David could probably be a better parent than his biological parents could ever be.

David cracked a wide grin, seeing this as a sign of Max feeling better. He was kind of glad that Max was back to his rude self.

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyyy hope y'all are having a good day,,
> 
> Two uploads in a week, it's surprising coming from me lmao
> 
> Please enjoy!


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